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OBAMAâ€™S INAUGURAL INVOCATION PICK BREAKS WITH 200+ YEARS OF AMERICAN TRADITION

President Barack Obama has selected Myrlie Evers-Williams to deliver the invocation at his public swearing-in on Jan. 21. Evers-Williams is the wife of Medgar Evers â€” a civil rights icon who was murdered in 1963. According to The Washington Post, it is apparently the first time that a woman has been selected to deliver the coveted prayer.

Additionally, it is also purportedly the first time that someone who is not an official clergy person has been chosen for the presidential invocation, which is slated to be delivered at the beginning of the event.

After her husbandâ€™s murder, Evers-Williams fought hard to see his killer brought to justice. Although [his killer, a white supremacist named Byron De La Beckwith] was arrested and brought to trial on murder charges, two all-white juries could not reach a verdict in the case. It would take approximately 30 years for justice to be served, with Williams-Evers keeping the case alive and pushing for Beckwith to pay for his crime. Her efforts were not in vain. In the early 1990s, Beckwith was again arrested and later convicted by a multi-racial jury.

Besides her quest for justice, Evers-Williams rebuilt her life after her husbandâ€™s death. She moved with her children to California and emerged as a civil rights activist in her own right. Evers-Williams spoke on behalf of the NAACP and wrote For Us, the Living, which chronicled her late husbandâ€™s life and work in 1967. She also made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Congress in 1970.

President Barack Obama speaks during an event in the East Room of the White House January 7, 2013 in Washington, DC. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

In an official statement put out by Obamaâ€™s Presidential Inaugural Committee, she expressed her excitement in being asked to be a part of the festivities. â€śIt is indeed an exhilarating experience to have the distinct honor of representingâ€ť [the civil rights era at the event],â€ť she is quoted as saying.

Pastor Louie Giglio (Photo Credit: 268Generation.com)

The activist will be joined at the public ceremony by conservative evangelical Louie Giglio,the founder of the popular Passion conferences and the pastor at Atlantaâ€™s Passion City Church. While it may seem odd that Obama has selected someone who is described as right-of-center, theologically-speaking,the Post has moreabout the reasons for the faith leaderâ€™s inclusion:

An inaugural official said Giglio was picked for the benediction in part because of his work raising awareness about modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Those were core issues at his most recent conference, Passion 2013, attended by more than 60,000 mostly young evangelicals in Atlanta.

â€śDuring these days it is essential for our nation to stand together as one,â€ť Giglio said in a statement. â€śAnd, as always, it is the right time to humble ourselves before our Maker.â€ť

In 2008, Obama selected Rick Warren, the popular pastor who penned, â€śThe Purpose-Driven Life,â€ť to deliver the invocation. This, too, struck some as an odd choice, particularly considering that Warren opposes gay marriage. His inclusion was seen as an affront to gay activists and progressives at the time.

The move to include both Evers-Williams and Giglio this year is seen by some as an effort to bridge divides. Considering the administrationâ€™s continued battle with conservative religious groups over the contraceptive mandate, among other policy stances, itâ€™s quite possible that the selection was made in an effort to bring all parties to the table.

It is very strange that Obama even would allow anyone from the right even to sit on the curb at his inauguration. He is a kind, wise, fair Messiah to allow one of those evil people to ever do that. Those evil conservatives should do Obama's every wish and longing, for he is far superior to any of them, because he knows everything and is always right.

It is very strange that Obama even would allow anyone from the right even to sit on the curb at his inauguration. He is a kind, wise, fair Messiah to allow one of those evil people to ever do that. Those evil conservatives should do Obama's every wish and longing, for he is far superior to any of them, because he knows everything and is always right.

At least that's what the Mainstream Media says.

Goodness, who peed in your cereal this morning?

Despite what the rabid right-wing media says, of course the "other side" is invited to the inaguration, just as it is with every president.

It is very strange that Obama even would allow anyone from the right even to sit on the curb at his inauguration. He is a kind, wise, fair Messiah to allow one of those evil people to ever do that. Those evil conservatives should do Obama's every wish and longing, for he is far superior to any of them, because he knows everything and is always right.

At least that's what the Mainstream Media says.

Goodness, who peed in your cereal this morning?

Despite what the rabid right-wing media says, of course the "other side" is invited to the inaguration, just as it is with every president.

Send me email updates about messages I've received on the site and the latest news from The CafeMom Team.
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